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2008 Region 6 Compliance and Enforcement Annual Results
FY2008 Annual Results Topics
Our mission is to promote compliance with Federal environmental regulations in partnership with our States and Tribes. Our vision is to make environmental compliance commonplace and to establish a culture that promotes going beyond compliance through collaboration, innovation and partnership.
"Here in Region 6, we are committed to protecting our environment and public health. This was a banner year in pollutant reductions and investments by industry to better control the management of pollutants. Communities in Region 6 will benefit from these substantial cuts and facility improvements. I commend the work of my staff and environmental partners on a job well done." Richard E. Greene, Regional Administrator
Record Breaking Results Were Achieved in FY 08. In collaboration with our federal, state, and tribal partners, EPA Region 6 continued to provide a strong and active enforcement and compliance program in fiscal year 2008. By focusing federal resources on substantive environmental problems, record breaking results were achieved. In total, federal enforcement actions attained investments in pollution control and cleanup of over $565 million, which will reduce pollutants by more than 437 million pounds, and properly treat, minimize, or dispose of over 2 billion pounds of hazardous waste. We assessed $11 million in penalties and respondents have agreed to implement $9 million in supplemental environmental projects. We also provided compliance assistance to more than 12 thousand entities. We are proud to present this year’s Results. See CAED Annual Report for more information.Compliance and Enforcement Annual Results
Numbers at a Glance
Region 6
| Results Obtained from EPA Civil Enforcement Actions | |||
| Estimated Environmental Benefits Commitments: | |||
| Direct Environmental Benefits | |||
| • Pollutants Reduced, Treated or Eliminated (Pounds) (1) | 437,566,642 |
||
| • Hazardous Waste Treated, Minimized or Properly Disposed of (Pounds) (1) (2) |
2,054,000,000
|
||
| • Contaminated Soil to be Cleaned Up (Cubic Yards) |
13,577
|
||
| • Stream Miles Protected (Linear Feet) |
4,733
|
||
| • Wetlands Protected (Acres) |
127
|
||
| • People Protected by Safe Drinking Water Act Enforcement (# of People) |
114,231
|
||
| Investments in Pollution Control and Clean-up (Injunctive Relief) |
$564,939,722
|
||
| Investments in Environmentally Beneficial Projects (SEPs) | $9,666,739 |
||
| Civil Penalties Assessed | |||
| Administrative Penalties Assessed |
$1,669,152
|
||
| Judicial Penalties Assessed |
$9,515,436
|
||
| Stipulated Penalties Assessed |
$194,815
|
||
| EPA Civil Enforcement and Compliance Activities | |||
| Referrals of Civil Judicial Enforcement Cases to Department of Justice (DOJ) | 31 |
||
| Supplemental Referrals of Civil Judicial Enforcement Cases to DOJ | 7 |
||
| Civil Judicial Complaints Filed with Court | 14 |
||
| Civil Judicial Enforcement Case Conclusions | 12 |
||
| Administrative Penalty Order Complaints | 366 |
||
| Final Administrative Penalty Orders | 355 |
||
| Administrative Compliance Orders | 283 |
||
| Cases with SEPs | 20 |
||
| EPA Compliance Monitoring Activities | |||
| Inspections/Evaluations | 1792 |
||
| Civil Investigations | 19 |
||
| Number of Regulated Entities Taking Complying Actions during EPA Inspections/Evaluations | 51 |
||
| Number of Regulated Entities Receiving Assistance during EPA Inspections/Evaluations | 966 |
||
| Inspections Conducted by Tribal Inspectors Using Federal Credentials (3) | 1 |
||
| EPA Superfund Cleanup Enforcement | |||
| % of non-Federal Superfund Sites with Viable, Liable Parties where an Enforcement Action was taken Prior to the Start of the Remedial Action | 100% |
||
| Private Party Commitments for Site Study and Cleanup (including cash outs) | $9,700,000 |
||
| Private Party Commitments for Cost Recovery | $3,100.000 |
||
| % of Cost Recovery Cases Greater than or Equal to $200,000 that were Addressed before the Statute of Limitations Expired | 100% |
||
| EPA Voluntary Disclosure Program | |||
| Voluntary Disclosures Initiated (Facilities) | 42 |
||
| Voluntary Disclosures Resolved (Facilities) | 42 |
||
| Voluntary Disclosures Initiated (Companies) | 37 |
||
| Voluntary Disclosures Resolved (Companies) | 40 |
||
| Notices of Determination (NODs) | 38 |
||
| EPA Compliance Assistance | |||
| Total Entities Reached by Compliance Assistance | 12,421 |
||
Sources for Data displayed for Numbers at a Glance: Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS), Criminal Case Reporting System, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation Liability Information System (CERCLIS), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Information (RCRAInfo), Air Facility System (AFS), and Permit Compliance System (PCS) October 11, 2008.
Federal Data Presented State-by-state
EPA works in partnership with states in targeting federal enforcement where it produces the most environmental benefit. The data below shows EPA's activities and achievements.
Caveat - A single enforcement case that addresses facilities located in more than one state will be counted in the total for each state with a facility. The results achieved from this enforcement action will also be counted in each state with a facility.
Region 6, Arkansas
| Results Obtained from EPA Civil Enforcement Actions | |
|---|---|
| Direct Environmental Benefits (Including benefits from Environmentally Beneficial Projects (SEPs)): | |
|
7,125,698 |
| Investments in Pollution Control and Clean-up (Injunctive Relief) | $212,496 |
| Investments in Environmentally Beneficial Projects (SEPs) | $39,235 |
| Civil Penalties Assesssed | $330,081 |
| Counts of EPA Civil Enforcement Actions | |
| Civil Judicial Conclusions | 1 |
| Final Administrative Penalty Orders | 33 |
| Administrative Compliance Orders | 19 |
Top of page Top of Data by State
Region 6, Louisiana
| Results Obtained from EPA Civil Enforcement Actions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Direct Environmental Benefits (Including benefits from Environmentally Beneficial Projects (SEPs)): | ||
|
175,846,869 |
|
|
||
| Investments in Pollution Control and Clean-up (Injunctive Relief) | $181,243,920 |
|
| Investments in Environmentally Beneficial Projects (SEPs) | $6,086,718 |
|
| Civil Penalties Assesssed | $1,939,775 |
|
| Counts of EPA Civil Enforcement Actions | ||
| Civil Judicial Conclusions | 5 |
|
| Final Administrative Penalty Orders | 20 |
|
| Administrative Compliance Orders | 27 |
|
Region 6, New Mexico
| Results Obtained from EPA Civil Enforcement Actions | |
|---|---|
| Direct Environmental Benefits (Including benefits from Environmentally Beneficial Projects (SEPs)): | |
|
191,240,377 |
| Investments in Pollution Control and Clean-up (Injunctive Relief) | $8,428,190 |
| Investments in Environmentally Beneficial Projects (SEPs) | $40,500 |
| Civil Penalties Assesssed | $661,320 |
| Counts of EPA Civil Enforcement Actions | |
| Civil Judicial Conclusions | 4 |
| Final Administrative Penalty Orders | 14 |
| Administrative Compliance Orders | 28 |
Top of page Top of Data by State
Region 6, Oklahoma
| Results Obtained from EPA Civil Enforcement Actions | |
|---|---|
| Direct Environmental Benefits (Including benefits from Environmentally Beneficial Projects (SEPs)): | |
|
49,170,267 |
|
13,577 |
| Investments in Pollution Control and Clean-up (Injunctive Relief) | $42,321,071 |
| Investments in Environmentally Beneficial Projects (SEPs) | $159,986 |
| Civil Penalties Assesssed | $651,777 |
| Counts of EPA Civil Enforcement Actions | |
| Civil Judicial Conclusions | 3 |
| Final Administrative Penalty Orders | 115 |
| Administrative Compliance Orders | 156 |
Region 6, Texas
| Results Obtained from EPA Civil Enforcement Actions | |
|---|---|
| Direct Environmental Benefits (Including benefits from Environmentally Beneficial Projects (SEPs)): | |
|
223,172,213 |
2,054,000,000 |
|
| Investments in Pollution Control and Clean-up (Injunctive Relief) | $518,816,726 |
| Investments in Environmentally Beneficial Projects (SEPs) | $9,400,300 |
| Civil Penalties Assesssed | $9,813,956 |
| Counts of EPA Civil Enforcement Actions | |
| Civil Judicial Conclusions | 14 |
| Final Administrative Penalty Orders | 152 |
| Administrative Compliance Orders | 40 |
Top of page Top of Data by State
Region 6, Gulf of Mexico
| Results Obtained from EPA Civil Enforcement Actions | |
|---|---|
| Direct Environmental Benefits (Including benefits from Environmentally Beneficial Projects (SEPs)): | |
|
26,490 |
| Investments in Pollution Control and Clean-up (Injunctive Relief) | $37,100 |
| Civil Penalties Assesssed | $32,616 |
| Counts of EPA Civil Enforcement Actions | |
| Final Administrative Penalty Orders | 7 |
| Administrative Compliance Orders | 9 |
Sources for Data displayed for Federal Data Presented State-by-State: Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS)
(1) Projected reductions to be achieved during the one year period after all actions required to attain full compliance have been completed.
(2) In FY 2008, for the first time, OECA is piloting a new Environmental Benefits outcome reporting category to count pounds of “Hazardous Waste Treated, Minimized or Properly Disposed Of “ from enforcement cases. OECA has determined that none of the previously established outcome categories are appropriate for counting the environmental benefits obtained from EPA’s hazardous waste cases. For FY 2008, this new pilot category includes only results from RCRA cases, but, in the future, similar results obtained from enforcement actions under other statutes, particularly CERCLA, may also be included.
(3) In FY 2008, for the first time, OECA is creating a separate reporting category to count the number of tribal inspections conducted by tribal inspections using federal credentials. Inspections conducted by tribal inspectors using federal credentials are done "on behalf' of the Agency, but are not an EPA activity.
Top of page Top of Data by State
Federal Case Highlights Presented State-by-State
Magellan Midstream Partners agreed to pay a $5.3 million civil penalty for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act: The alleged violations include illegally discharging gasoline and fuel oil from pipelines in Illinois, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota and Arkansas into nearby waterways over the past 10 years. The company allegedly discharged more than 17,000 barrels of gas and fuel oil on 11 different dates in violation of the Clean Water Act between March 1999 and May 2006. The spills had a number of causes, including third party damage from farm equipment and bulldozers, corrosion, leaks and pipeline operator error. Along with the civil penalty, Magellan will set up a program to minimize third-party damage to the pipeline system, a cause of some of the spills, and will spend $750,000 on removing or minimizing any external threats along selected segments of its pipeline. The company will also implement system-wide changes to improve employee training, leak response procedures and protocols for detecting and responding to leaks and ruptures. [Go to News Release]
Du Pont Agrees to Spend $66 Million to Reduce Air Pollution at Four Plants: In partnership with the States of Louisiana, Virginia, and Ohio, and the Environmental Protection Agency, E.I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co. settled a National case that is estimated to reduce more than 13,000 tons of harmful emissions annually from four sulfuric acid production plants. The Louisiana facility is located in the city of Darrow. Du Pont will spend at least $66 million on air pollution controls at the plants at the four facilities, and will pay a civil penalty of $4.125 million. The company will meet new, lower emission limits for sulfur dioxide at its sulfuric acid production units. The Louisiana facility will install state-of-the-art “dual absorption” pollution control equipment by Sept. 1, 2009. Du Pont’s plants produce acid by burning sulfur, creating sulfur dioxide. The sulfur dioxide is then converted to sulfur trioxide, which combines with water to form sulfuric acid. Air pollution is emitted when unconverted sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid mist are released to the atmosphere. Children, the elderly, and people with heart and lung conditions are the most sensitive to sulfur dioxide. [Go to News Release]
Equistar Chemicals LP, Will Spend $125 Million to Reduce Pollution: In a joint settlement with the states of Louisiana, Iowa, and Illinois, and EPA, Equistar has been directed to spend more than $125 million on pollution controls and cleanup to address a myriad of air, water and hazardous waste violations at seven petrochemical plants in Texas, Illinois, Iowa and Louisiana. The Louisiana plant is located in Lake Charles, La. (currently inactive), and the Texas plants in Channelview, Chocolate Bayou, Corpus Christi and La Porte. Under the first 18 months of the settlement, Equistar is required to conduct a number of separate environmental audits of its operations to identify any additional problems, report its findings and proposed corrective measures back to the EPA and state regulators, and fix the problems. In addition, Equistar has agreed to monitor and fix leaks of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants, such as benzene, from process units; to change out equipment that uses ozone-depleting substances; and to reduce flaring of VOCs. Equistar will pay a civil penalty of $2.5 million (to be divided among the federal government and participating states), and spend $6.56 million on federal and state supplemental environmental projects. The projects include hazardous waste cleanup activities in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. [Go to News Release]
Top of page Top of Data by State
Home Depot Settles Storm Water Violations: Home Depot has agreed to pay a $1.3 million penalty and implement a nationwide compliance. The settlement resolves alleged violations that were discovered at more than 30 construction sites in 28 states where new Home Depot stores were being built, including New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The settlement requires that Home Depot implement a comprehensive, corporate-wide program to prevent storm water pollution at each new store it builds nationwide. Home Depot must develop improved pollution prevention plans for each site, increase site inspections and promptly correct any problems at its sites. At the sites that had permits, EPA found violations of permit requirements that prevent pollution, such as silt and debris, from getting into storm water runoff. Violations included the failure to maintain adequate plans to prevent storm water pollution, failure to properly place and install fences around project areas to prevent silt from getting into storm water runoff, and failure to install controls at storm drains to prevent soil and sediments from reaching nearby waterways. Improving compliance at construction sites is one of EPA's national enforcement priorities. [Go to News Release]
Sinclair Oil agrees to improved refinery pollution controls: Sinclair Oil Corp. will pay a $2.45 million civil penalty and spend more than $72 million for new and upgraded pollution controls to reduce air pollution from the company's three refineries. The settlement resolves alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at the company's facilities in Casper and Sinclair, Wyo., and in Tulsa, Okla. The agreement requires new pollution controls to be installed that will reduce annual emissions of nitrogen oxide by approximately 1,100 tons per year and sulfur dioxide by almost 4,600 tons per year when fully implemented. The new controls also will result in additional reductions of volatile organic compounds and particulate matter from each of the refineries. Volatile organic compounds and sulfur dioxide can contribute to respiratory disorders such as asthma and reduced lung capacity. They can also cause damage to ecosystems and reduce visibility. In addition, Sinclair will spend $150,000 on supplemental environmental projects in Oklahoma, including $100,000 to install new controls to reduce emissions of particulate matter from the City of Tulsa’s fleet of municipal trash trucks. [Go to News Release]
EPA Issues Imminent and Substantial Endangerment Order to Agrifos Fertilizer, Inc. and ExxonMobil: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an administrative order on consent to Agrifos Fertilizer, Inc. and ExxonMobil Oil Corp. to address long-term wastewater management and prevent future imminent and substantial endangerment to human health and the environment. Agrifos operates a mineral processing facility that extracts phosphorus from mineral ores for use in commercial fertilizer. The byproduct wastes include phosphogypsum, which is accumulated in large piles of gypsum stacks, and process wastewater. Surrounding each gypsum stack is a moat storing process wastewater that has leached through the gypsum which is normally treated within the plant. In August 2007, the Pasadena facility accumulated excessive amounts of acidic wastewater that threatened catastrophic failure of the impoundments. An abnormal amount of rainfall caused an excess of wastewater resulting in the failure of a portion of the retaining wall that released wastewater into a county drainage ditch, Cotton Patch Bayou, and then into the Houston Ship Channel. The overflow released approximately 54 million gallons of wastewater between August 16 and September 7, 2007, and at least one fish kill was reported in the bayou. As a result of this case, 1.7 billion pounds of hazardous waste will be treated and disposed by deep well injection. [Go to News Release]
ConocoPhillips Pays $1.2 Million To Settle Clean Water Act Violations: ConocoPhillips, an international energy company, has agreed to pay a $1.2 million civil penalty to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act related to over 2,000 effluent discharges from a petroleum refinery it operates in Borger, Texas. ConocoPhillips violated effluent limits in its Clean Water Act permit on over 2,000 occasions between 1999 and 2006. The discharges from the facility involved two types of water pollutants—selenium and whole effluent toxicity. Effluent is wastewater and other byproduct that is discharged from refining and other industrial facilities. Whole effluent toxicity refers to the aggregate toxic effect to aquatic organisms from all pollutants contained in a facility's wastewater. After the United States took enforcement action, ConocoPhillips brought the refinery into compliance with its Clean Water Act permit limits for both these pollutants. The company will monitor surrounding waters for selenium levels, including Dixon Creek and the Canadian River, as well as for accumulation of selenium in fish tissue. The facility is also required to maintain the controls that it has already put into place to minimize its selenium discharges and to correct whole effluent toxicity violations. Additionally, ConocoPhillips will perform a Supplemental Environmental Project, estimated to cost approximately $600,000, which will reduce the amount of solids discharged into local waterways during storm events. [Go to News Release]
Equistar Chemicals LP, Will Spend $125 Million to Reduce Pollution: In a joint settlement with the states of Louisiana, Iowa, and Illinois, and EPA, Equistar has been directed to spend more than $125 million on pollution controls and cleanup to address a myriad of air, water and hazardous waste violations at seven petrochemical plants in Texas, Illinois, Iowa and Louisiana. The Louisiana plant is located in Lake Charles, La. (currently inactive), and the Texas plants in Channelview, Chocolate Bayou, Corpus Christi and La Porte. Under the first 18 months of the settlement, Equistar is required to conduct a number of separate environmental audits of its operations to identify any additional problems, report its findings and proposed corrective measures back to the EPA and state regulators, and fix the problems. In addition, Equistar has agreed to monitor and fix leaks of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants, such as benzene, from process units; to change out equipment that uses ozone-depleting substances; and to reduce flaring of VOCs. Equistar will pay a civil penalty of $2.5 million (to be divided among the federal government and participating states), and spend $6.56 million on federal and state supplemental environmental projects. The projects include a system to capture hazardous air emissions from process vents at the Channelview, Texas, facility, and state projects that include: (1) the purchase of emergency response equipment and newer, cleaner school buses; (2) funding for the Mississippi River Tourism Center; and (3) hazardous waste cleanup activities in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. [Go to News Release]